Phillies Caught Cheating
There’s a scandal in Philadelphia and it’s dirty enough to tarnish the Phillies continued success in the National League.
Bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was caught on camera using binoculars to allegedly steal signs from the Colorado Rockies. FSN Rocky Mountain showed Billmeyer using the binoculars aimed at catcher Miguel Olivio.
But manager Charlie Manuel said his staff wouldn’t be that dumb. Yet, he admits that he would steal signs from opposing teams, but he doesn’t allow it. What? For real?
Did he really say that?
Yes, he did:
“Would we try to steal somebody’s signs? Yeah, if we can. But we don’t do that. We’re not going to let a guy stand up there in the bullpen with binoculars looking in. We’re smarter than that.”
Olivio said this type of cheating damages the team’s reputation and tarnishes their last two NL championships. I tend to agree with him, too. If the Phillies have been conducting this form of cheating and were caught, it should be a priority of the commissioner to ensure this was an isolated incident.
But something tells me this was not isolated. The Phillies are dirty and leave a layer of scum every where they go.
As the article below from Yahoo Sports points out, the New York Mets accused the Phillies of stealing signs through a center-field camera in 2007. The following year the Boston Red Sox leveled charges against them in 2008.